Xiao-Niao
by The Anonymous Forgot my name
Summary: No Reboot. Someone is waiting for him in the Batcave.


DC owns the rights to Batman and even Cassandra Cain, even if they pretend they don't.

I give up on trying to figure out Hong Kong names. If this is wildly inaccurate or offensive, please let me know so I can rectify this.

* * *

There was a child in the Batcave.

This, by itself, was not a foreign sight to the Batman. Children had been occupying the Cave and the Manor above it almost constantly since the early years. What was odd, however, was that he had never seen this child before.

She was only a toddler, and she lived up to that as she toddled about on unsteady boot-clad feet. The brand-new stuffed rabbit trailing behind her had already accumulated dust and dirt from the cave, and he took notice of the flattened and wrinkled effects of the girl's blue dress and coat. The small bow clipped into the side of her black hair was hanging haphazardly, and she moved about with no hesitation on stocking-covered legs. She had been confined to a seat for a long stretch of time, he concluded.

He committed himself to the shadows. No alarms had been sounded, and there was no inkling of any disturbances as he descended the stairs until Bruce heard a strange, happy hum. The cowl went up and Batman went in, primed for attack from the likes of Quinn. And now he kept himself to the cave walls, trying to make sense of the entire situation.

He only meant to observe, but when the little child tripped and fell knee-first onto the concrete flooring, he found himself leaving his observation post. A familiar shadow moved in his peripheral, but he paid no notice as he knelt before the crying girl.

"Hello there," he murmured, tucking a crooked finger beneath the girl's chin. She looked up at him with watery brown eyes, as if the fall had destroyed her entire meaning of the world around her. The gold of her skin contrasted with the black of his glove. He could find no resemblance to the familiar in her.

"Her name is Jenny-Tai," the shadow behind him said. The girl yelped "Mama!" and crawled away from Batman, leaving her bunny behind.

_Jenny-Tai_. The name repeated itself in his mind, burning itself and the face attached into his memory. He was not sure what to say, so he said nothing at all as he looked from the girl to the one whose hand she now held.

Black Bat reached up with her free hand and removed her mask. "Hello there," Cassandra echoed softly, and with a twitch of a smile.

Batman damn near tore his cowl off. Even without it, Bruce could still do no more than gape.

"Her parents...crossed a Triad," came the quiet explanation. "I was too late to stop it." Green eyes met blue. There was something in those eyes, he realized. A question?

"I see." Brusque. Green eyes blinked. The question was replaced with uncertainty, and he distracted himself from the twinge of guilt with a question of his own. "How long?" _Damn it_, the unwanted Voice was still there.

Cassandra took in a deep breath. "Six months."

Bruce's eyebrows could go no higher. He had last spoken to Cass _four days ago._

"I…wanted to make sure it was certain," Cassandra went on. "Before anyone else got…attached." Those eyes bore into him, imploring. Imploring him for what?

He could read this woman as well as she could read anyone, but Bruce Wayne felt like he she was another language, one he only had tenuous grasp of.

Jenny-Tai at last noticed her discarded toy, and reached for it, whining. Bruce scooped it up and knelt down before her once more, triumphantly presenting the prize. She stared apprehensively at the man, her head whirling from him, to the rabbit, to Cassandra. The hand holding hers tightened briefly, Cassandra knelt down beside her. "Jenny-Tai, this is your grandfather."

Jenny-Tai did not look convinced. Bruce disguised his shaking hands by hopping the bunny over to her. The child squealed with delight and immediately took it. He smiled, but looked only at Jenny-Tai's hair clip. His eyes had failed him. It wasn't a bow. It was a plastic bat, wings outstretched. "Cassandra, are you sure about this?" he asked quietly.

"Were you?" His eyes snapped up to meet hers, and he finally recognized what was there. A need for approval. Her need for his approval. Her need for his reassurance.

Immediately his arms were around her, pulling her close. He held her to him, and he told himself that the rocking motion was just an attempt to keep his balance in this crouch.

They rose together, still holding on to one another as Jenny-Tai looked up at them in confusion. Finally, Cassandra pulled away from him—eyes bright and smiling—but not before Bruce placed a kiss to her temple.

_I'm proud of you, _he said in their language. _ I love you. Welcome home._

Jenny-Tai was tugging on his cape. He cleared his throat and turned to give her his full attention, granting Cass the discretion to swipe at her eyes. The little girl reached her arms out to him.

With one fluid motion, he had unclasped his cape, wrapped it around the child, then scooped up the bundle into his arms—bunny and all. Jenny-Tai laughed. So did Cassandra.

So did Bruce.

"Hello there, _ngoi syun neoi,_" Bruce Wayne whispered, placing a kiss to his granddaughter's temple. He mulled over the term in his head as he rocked the girl in his arms. His granddaughter.

His first grandchild.

He looked over Jenny-Tai's short hair and bat clip to Cassandra. She was beaming. His eyes were bright. She walked over to his side. And like she had done so many years ago in No Man's Land, she took his hand.

And Bruce kept hold of her hand as he carried Jenny-Tai up the stairs of the Batcave and into Wayne Manor.

There were uncles and a great-grandfather for her to meet.

* * *

(I have no idea how to parse _ngoi syun neoi)_


End file.
